BTW - Sprue Brothers has their RFM T-34-85 #174 on sale for like $27.49 today in case someone doesn’t have a kit and wants to join the campaign for minimal cost.
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If I hadn’t literally just bought a new T-34 last Thursday I would jump on this. Been itching to try a Ryefield kit. They also have a Ryefield PzIV on sale as well. Sadly my march hobby money was spent on the t-34 
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I very tempted to get another one just to have one.
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Just checked SB and there Pz. iiii is almost 50% off!
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Be sure and check RFM Pz IV H - instruction issues
Ezra, of course, I had to order one - hard to turn down a cheap RFM Pz IV. It can always be Chopped up and made into liquid sprue if it’s disappointing:)
@Tank_1812 Ryan, we think a like. Picking up a spare RFM T-34-85 too.
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Heh… good point I may buy a 24"x18" Tankraft cutting matt instead!
@Panzer_modeler Ezra,
In the words of Sir Archibald David Stirling of the SAS Who Dares Wins.
Go for it if you’re interested. With a copies of a reference like Achtung Panzer #3 Pz IV available it should be buildable with patience.
BTW - ~4 hours into the RFM kit. Very happy with it.
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I’ve built Rye’s T34 and it’s a great kit.
Go for it!
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I couldn’t resist and pulled the trigger on it.
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My first update: Suspension and hull tubs put together. The instructions would have you put everything onto the upper hull before you glue it onto the lower hull. Since I have not yet taken leave of my senses I opted to ignore that and put the upper and lower hull together.
So far the only difference in the kits is the rear plate. Factory 112 required removing some bolt heads and drilling some holes. For some reason the fit of the rear plate on 112 was not quite as good as 183. I have since gone back and corrected the gap.
The cast texture on the MG mount is not great. I will be knocking it down a lot during the next session.
I also cut off the fenders and replaced with PE on the Factory 112. All aftermarket PE will be on the Factory 112 vehicle.
Factory 112 is the green, Factory 183 is the grey.
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Just out of curiosity, exactly where were the respective factories located?
Factory 112 -?
Factory 174 -?
Factory 183 -?
Etc
Google tank factory #…
File this under probably worrying about nothing but my ocd is thinking one must paint the shock housing unit first and then the shock before installing the parts. Thoughts? @Dan did you see an issue here when you completed your build?
@Tank_1812 Ryan, I agree painting first is the smartest and best way to do the shock assembly. A++
Me being a little on the lazy side when it comes to non Pz IV’s - I didn’t paint it first. I got away with on my DML T-34-85’s shock assembly using a black base coat plus color coats plus washes down the opening. It was a little fiddly to AB but it was do able.
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I did paint it first and in hindsight it wasn’t needed
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This is one I have never bothered with (bearing in mind I have completed the sum total of 3 T-34’s in my life). The whole unit gets sprayed the colour of the hull. So little of the shock is visible in the first place and once the wheel is on its basically impossible to see. Plus I would not be surprised if the soviets just sprayed the whole thing green when they painted the tank 
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Did I paint the springs?
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Thanks for the input. Like I said, my ocd was kicking in. Might do a quick spray of hull red inside the box as primer and dark iron on the springs.
